Chair



C. O. BLISS Nov. 7, 1967 CHAIR 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 9, 1965 S w Kw m 0 M W Nov. 7, 1967 c. o. Buss 3,351,378

CHAIR Filed Nov. 9, 1965 5 sheets-sheet z INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY C. O. BLlSS Nov. 7, 1967 CHAIR 5 Sheets-SheevS Filed Nov. 9, 1965 C Y B ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,351,373 CHAIR Charles 0. Bliss, Los Angeies, Calif; Beatrice Bliss, executrix of said (Iharles 0. Bliss, deceased, assignor to Blisscraft of Hollywood, Gardenia, Calif.

Filed Nov. 9, 1965, Ser. No. seems 2 Claims. (Cl. 297239) This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 410,400, filed Nov. 12, 1964.

This invention relates to chair construction and particularly to chairs which are adapted to be stacked one on top of the other.

Such chairs are particularly useful for institutions which must frequently and rapidly convert large floor areas, such as ballroorns, into seating areas, such as auditoriums, and back again.

An object of this invention is to provide a strong, comfortable chair which may be readily stacked with companion chairs in large numbers into a stable stack of chars which will not shift or tip. Pursuant to this object of the invention, the chairs are so constructed that they can be stacked alternatively in spaced back-to-back confronting relation whereby the backs of alternate chairs of the stack are disposed in the same one of two parallel vertical planes and the center of gravity of the stack lies in a vertical plane midway between said two planes.

Another object of this invention is to provide a stackable chair which may be readily laterally interlocked with companion chairs to form stable rows of uniformly aligned and spaced apart chairs.

Yet another aspect of this invention is to provide a lightweight chair which may be shifted from stack to row and back again easily, manually and without the use of tools.

A feature of this invention is the provision of a chair comprising a seat, a support for said seat having front and rear pairs of legs secured to said seat, two leg bracing means, one at each side of the chair, secured to a front leg and to a rear leg of each of said pairs of legs, respectively, and two holding means, one at each side of the chair fixed to each of said leg bracing means, and having a part disposed laterally outwardly of the companion pair of legs and leg bracing means, whereby each leg bracing means of a chair in a stack will be interlocked between the pair of legs and the holding means of the chair immediately below in the stack.

These and other objects, features, and improvements will become obvious upon reading the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the chair;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a stack of chairs, a number of chairs being omitted from the stack;

FIG. 4 is a side view, on a larger scale, of two stacked chairs, lower parts of the chair legs being omitted;

FIG. 5 is a view of the chairs shown by FIG. 4 taken at right angles to the FIG. 4 view of said chairs;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the chairs of FIG. 1 in lateral relationship;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the chairs of FIG. 4 showing a detail of the interlocking of companion holding means;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the chairs of FIG. 4 showing a detail of the interlocking of companion holding means; and

FIG. 9 is a side view of the chairs of FIG. 8, in cross section taken along line 99 of FIG. 8.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the chairs of the stack each comprise a seat 10 which is a shell molded of reinforced plastic having a relatively horizontal portion 12, a relatively vertical portion 14 and two spaced apart junction portions 116 in the region of opening 17. The seat conforms to the human posterior and provides a measure of resiliency between the horizontal and vertical portions. Two substantially U-shaped leg assemblies, a front assembly 18 and a rear assembly 20 are fixed, as by welding, to a plate 22, the lower portions thereof being further apart than the upper portions. The plate 22 is secured to the underside of the seat by suitable means, such as bolts threaded into nuts captured in molded-in bosses, not shown.

The front and rear leg assemblies are additionally fixedly interconnected as by welding, by two pairs of horizontal bracing rods, one pair on each side of the chair. The right front leg 24 and the right rear leg 26 are interconnected by an upper bracing rod 23 and a lower bracing rod 39. The left front leg 32 and the left rear leg 34 are interconnected by an upper bracing rod 36 and a lower bracing rod 38. The bracing rods are secured to the outer sides of the associated legs.

A holding means is fixed to each pair of bracing means. A U-shaped hook holding member 40 having two rectilinear vertical portions 42 and 44 and a rectilinear cross-portion 4-6 is fixed to the right set of bracing rods. The lower ends 42A and 44A of the leg portions 42 and 44 respectively are in end-abutment with the lower bracing rod 30, while the medial portion of the leg portions 42. and 44 are in side-abutment with the upper bracing rod 28, thereby angling the plane of the hook holding member outwardly upwardly away from the plane of the right front and rear legs.

A U-shaped eye holding member 48 having two vertical leg portions 50 and 52, outwardly bent at their upper parts, and a rectilinear cross-portion 54 is fixed to the left set of bracing rods. The lower ends 50A and 52A of the leg portions 50 and 52 respectively are in end abutment with the lower bracing rod 33, while the medial portions of the leg portions 50 nd 52 are a side-abutment with the upper bracing rod 36, thereby angling the plane of the lower portion, below the bend, of the eye holding member outwardly upwardly away from the plane of the right front and rear legs. The plane of the upper portion, above the bend, of the eye holding member is further angled outwardly and upwardly, to form an eye which receives the hook from a laterally adjacent chair. The length of the cross-portion 54 of the eye is made longer than the length of the cross-portion 46 of the hook by the thickness of the leg portions 42 and 44, so that the hook will slide into the eye.

As illustrated and described in my above-mentioned United States applicaton, each of the legs terminates in a glide or disk-shaped foot 53. When the hook and eye of laterally adjacent companion chairs are interengaged, and the chairs are firmly on the floor, the glides of the laterally adjacent companion legs are in abutment. Thus when two chairs are interlocked they are kept in row alignment by two opposed sets of abutments, viz.: the abutment of the front leg glides, the abutment of the rear leg glides, the abutment of the leg portion 42 with the cross-portion 54, and the abutment of the leg portion 44 with the cross-portion 54.

The chairs are stackable vertically in the manner illustrated by FIGS. 3 to 5, i.e., with the seat 12 of each chair, except the lowermost chair of the stack, close to and confronting the seat 12 of the immediately lower chair and with the alternate chairs, which form one group of the stack being disposed so that the front of the backs 14 of that group face the front of the backs 14 of the other chairs which form a second group. The member 40 of each chair of one group is overlapped by the member 48 of the next chair of the other group and the member 48 of each chair of said other group overlap a member 48 of the next chair of the other group, and the downwardly diverging side legs at each side of the chair overlap the upper portions of the side legs of the next upper chair. The central vertical plane CL of the stack is midway between the parallel outer vertical planes RP and LP which are tangent to the upper edges 14a of the chair backs 14 of the two groups, respectively.

The intersections I of the upward converging projections of side legs 24, 26 and 32, 34 lie in the median vertical plane CL. The distance of the line extending between intersection points I from the front edge of seat 12 is less than the distance of said line to the back 14 of said chair in the region of portions 16 so that the front edges of alternate chairs in the stack are spaced from confronting parts of the backs of adjacent chairs, respectively, in the stack. Thus, there is sufficient room in a vertical plane perpendicular to plane CL between the front surfaces of the backs 14 of alternate chairs in the stack and the front surfaces of the backs 14 of the adjacent chairs, respectively, in the stack for the stacking of the chairs with the front surfaces of adjacent chairs in the stack in confronting relation. In the stack, the rear surfaces of the backs 14 of alternate chairs lie close to the front surfaces of the backs of immediately lower alternate chairs, respectively. Preferably, opening 17 in the chair backs has an outwardly disposed peripheral edge 17A which abuts the front surface of immediately lower alternate chair above the opening 17 in the latter.

The above described chair is lightweight, comfortable, and of simple construction. The chair may be stacked with companion chairs into stable vertical stacks up to thirty chairs high, without any tendency to slip or tip. The chair may be ganged with companion chairs into relatively rigid horizontally aligned rows of any desired number.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise than as herein specifically illustrated or described, and that certain changes in the form and arrangement of parts and in the specific manner of practicing the invention may be made without departing from the underlying idea or principles of this invention within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A chair comprising:

a seat having a substantially horizontal part and a back part extending upwardly therefrom;

a support for said seat having two sets of front and rear legs, one set disposed at each side of said chair and secured to said horizontal part of said seat and extending and diverging apart downwardly;

a leg bracing means at each side of the chair secured to a front leg and to a rear leg of each of said sets of legs, respectively;

holding means at each side of the chair in fixed rela- 4 tion to each of said leg bracing means having a part disposed adjacent the companion pair of legs and extending laterally outwardly of the companion pair of legs and leg bracing means;

said outwardly extending part of said holding means at each side of the chair comprising an upwardly extending loop shaped member;

the loop shaped member at one side of the chair being wider than the loop shaped member at the opposite side of the chair and adapted to releasably interlock with the narrower loop shaped member of an identical chair when two such chairs are disposed in side by side relation and face in the same direction;

the plane bisecting the angle formed between said front and rear legs of each of said sets being closer to the forward edge of said horizontal part of said seat than to the inner surface of said back part, whereby said chair may be stacked on top of an identical chair with said back part of said seat of said chair either adjacent to or remote from the back part of the seat of the identical chair, with said legs of said chair overlying the respective legs of the identical chair therebelow, and with each of said bracing means of said chair disposed between the respective legs and holding means of the identical chair therebelow.

2. A chair according to claim 1 wherein each of said leg bracing means is a horizontal rod fixed to said respective front and rear legs; and each of said holding means is fixed to the respective said horizontal rod.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,408,114 2/1922 Mathieu 297-239 2,554,232 5/1951 Young 220-97 2,807,454 9/1957 Beadle 220-97 2,893,469 7/1959 Eames et al. 297-239 2,952,300 9/1960 Cohen 297-239 2,956,618 10/1960 Eames et al. 297-248 2,997,339 8/1961 Wilson 297-239 3,031,227 4/1962 Van Buren 297-239 3,053,493 9/1962 Stafford 297-239 3,144,271 8/1964 Lieberman et a1 297-248 3,156,498 11/1964 Blodes 297-239 3,159,425 12/1964 Engstrom 297-239 3,183,034 5/1965 Midyette 297-239 3,246,928 4/1966 Haynes et al. 297-239 FOREIGN PATENTS 974,861 11/1964 Great Britain.

FRANCIS K. ZUGEL, Primary Examiner.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiner. 

1. A CHAIR COMPRISING: A SEAT HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PART AND A BACK PART EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM; A SUPPORT FOR SAID SEAT HAVING TWO SETS OF FRONT AND REAR LEGS, ONE SET DISPOSED AT EACH SIDE OF SAID CHAIR AND SECURED TO SAID HORIZONTAL PART OF SAID SEAT AND EXTENDING AND DIVERGING APART DOWNWARDLY; A LEG BRACING MEANS AT EACH SIDE OF THE CHAIR SECURED TO A FRONT LEG AND TO A REAR LEG OF EACH OF SAID SETS OF LEGS, RESPECTIVELY; HOLDING MEANS AT EACH SIDE OF THE CHAIR IN FIXED RELATION TO EACH OF SAID LEG BRACING MEANS HAVING A PART DISPOSED ADJACENT THE COMPANION PAIR OF LEGS AND EXTENDING LATERALLY OUTWARDLY OF THE COMPANION PAIR OF LEGS AND LEG BRACING MEANS; SAID OUTWARDLY EXTENDING PART OF SAID HOLDING MEANS AT EACH SIDE OF THE CHAIR COMPRISING AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING LOOP SHAPED MEMBER; THE LOOP SHAPED MEMBER AT ONE SIDE OF THE CHAIR BEING WIDER THAN THE LOOP SHAPED MEMBER AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE CHAIR AND ADAPTED TO RELEASABLY INTERLOCK WITH THE NARROWER LOOP SHAPED MEMBER OF AN IDENTICAL CHAIR WHEN TWO SUCH CHAIRS ARE DISPOSED IN SIDE BY SIDE RELATION AND FACE IN THE SAME DIRECTION; THE PLANE BISECTING THE ANGLE FORMED BETWEEN SAID FRONT AND REAR LEGS OF EACH OF SAID SETS BEING CLOSER TO THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID HORIZONTAL PART OF SAID SEAT THAN TO THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID BACK PART, WHEREBY SAID CHAIR MAY BE STACKED ON TOP OF AN IDENTICAL CHAIR WITH SAID BACK PART OF SAID SEAT OF SAID CHAIR EITHER ADJACENT TO OR REMOTE FROM THE BACK PART OF THE SEAT OF THE IDENTICAL CHAIR, WITH SAID LEGS OF SAID CHAIR OVERLYING THE RESPECTIVE LEGS OF THE IDENTICAL CHAIR THEREBELOW, AND WITH EACH OF SAID BRACING MEANS OF SAID CHAIR DISPOSED BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE LEGS AND HOLDING MEANS OF THE IDENTICAL CHAIR THEREBELOW. 